Doctors criticise Scotland's GP walk-in centres as some see only three patients per day
Figures show fewer than 7,000 people have used the pilot service
Doctors have criticised the rollout of Scotland’s GP walk-in centres as it emerged some clinics are seeing as few as three patients a day on average.
Figures show fewer than 7,000 people have used the pilot service since it launched last year. Opposition politicians described the scheme as a “gimmick” and a “flop”.
First Minister John Swinney announced the introduction of GP walk-in centres in October 2025, with a pilot rollout of 15. In January this year, he confirmed £36 million funding to expand the number of clinics to 30.
Figures released on Tuesday revealed the facility in Dundee had an average of three visits per day, while Benbecula, Hawick and Lerwick had four, six and seven respectively.
The statistics, from Public Health Scotland, showed 6,792 visits were recorded across the pilot walk-in centres between February and the end of June. The six centres that were open for the entire month of June recorded 2,156 visits.
Public Health Scotland said direct comparisons should not be made because centres have different opening dates, opening hours and eligibility criteria.
Dr Chris Provan, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in Scotland, said the latest statistics “reinforce our long-held view: GP walk-in centres will not meaningfully increase the capacity of general practice to meet the needs of the population”.
He said: “The data shows that the six GP walk-in centres that were fully operational in June delivered approximately 70 patient contacts per day. GPs and their teams across Scotland provide around 136,000 patient contacts every weekday.
“While the Scottish government presents walk-in centres as a solution to difficulties in accessing GP appointments, today's figures demonstrate their contribution to addressing the capacity challenges facing general practice is minimal.
"GP walk-in centres have already been extensively trialled in England, where they failed to reduce pressure on general practice or emergency departments, along with other unintended consequences.
“In Scotland, these centres offer a narrower range of services than those available through core GP practices, replicate services already provided through initiatives such as Pharmacy First and operate at significantly higher cost.”
Dr Provan said the pilot had been “an unfortunate distraction from the Scottish government's welcome investment in general practice”.
He added: “The Scottish government has confirmed that this pilot programme is time limited. Once all pilot sites have concluded, there must be a robust and transparent evaluation.
“If that evaluation shows, as we fully expect, that walk-in centres provide fewer services at greater cost, then the pilot should not be continued. The centres should close and the staff redeployed to in-hours and out-of-hours GP services, where they can have the greatest impact for patients."
Dr Iain Morrison, chair of the BMA’s Scottish GPs committee, said the evidence showed walk-in centres did not work.
He said: “We knew from extensive evidence from the English walk-in centre network that they failed to alleviate any pressure on existing GP services or A&E departments, yet they cost a considerable amount of money.”
Dr Morrison said the Scottish government went ahead with the scheme despite criticism from medical professionals.
He said: “They (walk-in centres) were initially announced at the SNP conference pre-election. They then very quickly became a government policy.
“The 15 then became 30 with no consultation. I can only assume that it was polling quite well in the lead-up to the election, and that’s why there was this further investment despite the huge swathes of the profession and even within the health board network, having major concerns about the development.”
Asked if it was a case of “politics over practicality”, the doctor said: “That’s how it would appear.”
The GP said the Scottish government should invest more money into core NHS services, rather than “into separate services that fail to alleviate the core problem”.
Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, the first clinic to open in February, recorded 846 cases in June, while Stranraer had 732. Hawick saw 178 cases, Lerwick 222, Lochee 94 and Benbecula 84.
The Health Secretary defended the programme, describing it as an “innovative pilot”.
Angela Constance said she was “very encouraged” by the scheme with 10 out of 30 centres already up and running within five months.
She said: “It’s really important to stress two things: we made a commitment to end the 8am rush for GP appointments because we heard loudly and clearly people’s frustration with that 8am rush, and I would contend that the patient’s voice counts very clearly.
“But also to reassure GPs the length and breadth of Scotland that this is to complement our investment and our work to support and strengthen GP practices.”
Asked if she accepted that some of the walk-in centres were being underused, Ms Constance said the programme would be “robustly evaluated” by Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
Conservative MSP Miles Briggs said: “John Swinney sold walk-in GP centres as the answer to beating the 8am rush for appointments, but they are already being exposed as a flop.
“Increasingly it would seem that the walk-in centres were nothing more than a pre-election gimmick by desperate SNP ministers trying to distract from their two decades of failure to deliver the GP services Scotland deserve.
“Ministers have repeatedly ignored warnings from GPs that this policy would be ineffective and do nothing to ease the pressure on them.
“Yet another one of John Swinney’s big campaign promises is falling apart. Patients are left picking up the pieces because the SNP always prioritise chasing headlines, rather than ensuring plans will actually be delivered.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton warned the policy could become a “costly distraction”.
He added: “These figures are even worse than many might have imagined and will have SNP ministers sweating.
“Their plans for more of these centres must now be put on hold while the learning from these first centres is taken seriously.”
“It doesn’t make sense to spend millions rolling out more of these while some of the centres that are up and running are seeing as few as three patients a day.
“After 19 years, the SNP cannot be trusted to help staff or patients. This is a party that hired less than one in 10 of the GPs they promised in 2017.
“From hiring more specialist staff to work alongside GPs and manage patient need, to enabling pharmacists to do more prescribing, Scottish Liberal Democrats have got a realistic plan to get everyone the first-rate healthcare they need when they need it."
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